Shootings, bomb attacks and gunbattles in two southern provinces of Thailand have killed eight people and wounded at least 11 others.

Six bombs exploded this morning Wednesday across Narathiwat province. One of them, hidden in a motorcycle at a busy market, killed a woman and wounded at least 11 other people. The other blasts caused no casualties.

Elsewhere, police say insurgents shot at a patrol guarding a railway in Yala province and killed two of four soldiers before stealing their weapons.

In a separate gunbattle, police say five suspected Muslim insurgents were killed.

Violence linked to a separatist movement in Thailand's three southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has killed more than 2,300 people since 2004.

During the past month, Thai security forces have launched almost daily raids on suspected insurgent hideouts in the region and detained nearly 400 people.